Today, in case you hadn’t noticed, is the day of the United States general election. Many pundits are already calling today “historic”, so there are doubtless many people out there keen to keep up-to-date with the results as they come in. We’ve found some cool apps and widgets you can use to do just that on your PC, Mac or iPhone.
First up, check out this page at NPR, which is packed with links and tips for tracking the election. Our favourite suggestions are the BallotVox plugin which you can place on your own website or on your desktop, and the Engage 08 Budget Hero widget for websites, which allows your visitors to play the Budget Hero fiscal management game from your site.
Google has some cool apps available, including this .kmz file which you can use to see voting data by county for the last seven Presidential elections in Google Earth, as well this special map which will show election results, live as they come in (starting around 6pm EST). Google is also providing a special new mobile app for voters with directions to voting centres in your local precinct. Just go to (#8217;s browser. If you’re an iPhone user, you should take a look at the US Election & World News app, which is available for download now from the AppStore.
Meanwhile, the best-looking interactive site for election results is probably Yahoo’s Political Dashboard. Though it doesn’t have any downloads available, it features some pretty cool interactive elements, including the ‘Create Your Scenario’ tool which allows you to become the pundit and predict the outcome of the election state by state. You can also share your predictions and check out some celebrity scenarios from observers like Arianna Huffington and Newt Gingrich.
